Eve of Christmas Miracles
by LuxCytre
Summary: Christmas is often considered a time for festivities, a season for miracles to occur. Between an ordinary sleepover and a fight against evil, sometimes, miracles don't always come as expected.
1. Chapter 1

"Thanks for letting me stay until my mother gets back, Mrs Flynn-Fletcher," Isabella gleefully said, "it sure beats staying at home alone for a few days."

"Don't mention it. We're glad to have you over, especially since Vivian had that family emergency and rushed back to Mexico. Something about reuniting with an estranged sister." Linda replied while drying off the dishes and placing them back on the dish rack.

"I hope I'm not too much of a burden on your family, considering that today is Christmas Eve. I just don't wish to intrude on your family time..."

"Don't be silly, Isabella!" Phineas interrupted, a cheerful grin plastered on his face, as he walked to the kitchen. "You're always welcomed here, after all, we consider you as part of the family."

Isabella turned around to face him, only to be lost in his glistening eyes. For years she had harbored this intense, manic obsession over him, with the craving, not to mention frustration, only intensifying every single time his obliviousness renders him blind to her blatantly manifest attempts at affection.

On a typical day, Phineas would perhaps be the most oblivious person on the planet. But not today. Recently, he had begun noticing Isabella staring at him, sometimes for hours on end. He would cast back occasional glances at Isabella, who seemed to have a slight reddish hue on her cheeks as she hurriedly turned her head away. However, that is not to say he understood what was going on. On the contrary, he was confused by Isabella's antics. And the more he contemplated about why Isabella might find pleasure in gazing at him, the more puzzled he was.

_Maybe I should ask Ferb about it, he knows more about girls than me, so he might be able to..._ n_ah, that would definitely sound like a strange question. I'll just think about it later, I'm sure there's a logical explanation behind this._

"So Mom," Phineas continued, "how come you and Dad aren't eating dinner at home?"

"That's because we're going out on a date, Phineas" Lawrence chimed in. "And what better time to spend time alone with each other than on Christmas Eve?"

"That's right, dear." Linda added, "there's this new restaurant that had just opened up on the other side of Danville, and I can't wait to try out their food. I heard that they're already booked for the night, good thing you reserved a table 2 months ago. Oh, and while we're gone, Candace will be in charge..."

"DID YOU HEAR THAT? MOM SAYS I'M IN CHARGE!" a shrill cry resonated from the second floor of the house. "THAT MEANS NO SUPER ELABORATE MACHINERY OR CONTRAPTIONS!"

"Right... Anyway, we'll have to leave now if we don't want to be late. Goodnight boys, don't stay up too late. Isabella, you have fun now." Linda proceeded towards the exit, only to stop for a moment. "Oh, and Candace? No calls, unless it's really, really important, like if a satellite crashes into the house."

"Bye Mom! Bye Dad! Have fun!" Phineas waved goodbye as the door closed.

"So Ferb, any ideas? Candace said no machinery or contraptions, so we'll have to work with simpler things. Besides, we've already built that giant quantum flux energy capacitor earlier this morning to help Baljeet prove Loop Quantum Gravity wrong and win that science fair competition. And honestly, that was one of our more exhausting projects, so I'm fine with taking a break from building anything for the next few hours."

"Well, I was thinking..." Ferb started before being cut off by Phineas.

"How about you, Isabella? Anything you want to do? Any patches that we can accomplish from the comfort of our home?" Phineas then discovered that she was stuck in some sort of trance, her face sporting a lopsided grin as she gazed dreamily at Phineas. _There she goes again, I still can't figure out why she's looking at me like that, maybe there's something on my face? Maybe I should just ask her, oh wait, that'll probably be too awkward. Although, she does look kind of cute with that face, but then again, she's always cute._

"Isabella? Can you hear me? Are you there? Isabella?"

Meanwhile, Isabella was still too busy gazing at Phineas to figure out what he was saying. She gave out a barely audible sigh when Phineas had said "our home". _He does consider me as part of his family... If only we were more than just 'best friends'; it's better than nothing, I guess._ Isabella had spent much effort into resisting drifting off into Phineasland, which could be particularly embarrassing if she had let slip any intimate details about her feelings for the triangular-headed boy. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she wasn't even aware that Phineas was addressing her until she saw his concerned expression and subsequently snapped out of her daze.

"Huh? What? Did you say something Phineas?" Isabella quickly replied, hoping that Phineas hasn't said anything important.

"Isabella, are you okay? You appeared distant, is there something bothering you?" Phineas' facial expression reverted back to its original exuberance, but a slight tone of perturbation was still audible in his voice. "You cheeks are flaring up, is everything okay? Are you falling sick? Do you need medication?"

Isabella was flattered that Phineas was so concerned over her well-being, yet there was a tinge of embarrassment from the fact that she had made him so worried over such a small deal. A blush crept up her cheeks as her mind was, once again, inundated by thoughts about her crush. She looked over his shoulder, only to see Ferb looking nonchalantly at the scene unfolding before him. Ferb then pointed to the television with one hand, and signaled for Isabella to calm Phineas down with his other hand.

"I'm fine, Phineas." Isabella managed to regain her composure and responded to the torrent of questions directed at her. "I'm just ...um, thinking about my mother! Yeah, because she did leave rather hastily and I simply hope that she manages to patch things up with her sister and make sure everything is well again so my family can become bonded again and..." She trailed on with her speech until she realised she was just babbling at this point. "I'm fine, don't worry."

"If you say so..." Phineas was still hesitant, but he trusted her judgment of her own well-being.

"Anyway," Isabella tried changing the subject, "since it's Christmas Eve, why don't we relax and watch some Christmas specials on television? I'm sure we can find something festive to watch."

* * *

And so, Phineas, Ferb and Isabella spent the next few hours watching two Christmas specials, 'Christmas Vacation' and 'A Family Christmas'. Throughout the entirety of the two movies, Ferb sat on a recliner, while Isabella and Phineas sat on the couch. However, despite starting on opposite ends of the couch, every few minutes, both parties seemed to be inching closer to each other, until their knees came into contact during the middle of the first movie, eliciting a blush from Isabella. Phineas tensed when his knee bumped into Isabella's, but quickly relaxed after that.

_Oh my gosh, was he trying to move closer to me too?! No, that can't be right, he's probably doesn't have any romantic feelings for me, at least, not yet. Maybe it's just a coincidence, yeah, that's it. By some serendipitous occurrence, he just so happen to decide to move towards the centre of the couch. Although, I did feel his knee tense when we physically touched, what if he felt that same spark as me! Maybe I should test the waters a little and see how he reacts._

Isabella let her right hand to drop, allowing it to 'accidentally' land on Phineas' left hand. Again, she felt a surge of electricity rush through her arm as Phineas inwardly jumped at the contact, but this time, instead of ignoring it, Phineas entwining his fingers around hers. Isabella's heart almost stopped, the simple gesture stunning her into a state of catatonia. _He... he... he held my hand! This...this is a dream. This has to be a dream! There's no way this is real life._

Isabella continued to convince herself of the near impossibility of the situation, that she would snap out of this dream in a moment's notice, all the while relaxing into his grip and wearing a jubilant smile.

Phineas, on the other hand, was deeply engrossed with the first movie. He was following the elaborate plot closely, when he felt sparks emanating from his left knee. Looking down, he found himself unusually close to Isabella, as well as finding himself near the middle of the couch. _Strange, _he thought, _I could have sworn Isabella and I were on different ends of the couch, how did we both end up next to each other? Oh well, maybe the both of us unconsciously decided that the middle of the couch was more comfortable. Regardless, this is more comfortable than before. Now, back to the movie..._

At this point, Isabella had initiated her plan to have her hands conveniently land on his, prompting his breathing to hitch. _Okay, now this is an odd phenomenon. Why does my hand feel all tingly now? Does Isabella have some sort of electrostatic charge on her? Should I do something about it? I don't think ignoring it will help alleviate this feeling I'm experiencing. In fact, for some reason, I'm beginning to like this peculiar stimulation of the nerves in my hand. I don't recall feeling like this with other people though. Oddly enough, the only time I've experienced a milder form of such excitement when holding hands with Isabella. So why is the tactile sensation arising from this particular instance so considerably intense? Perhaps I do need to ask Ferb about this. But for now, what's the next appropriate action I should embark upon. Hmm... I know! I'll hold her hands! Maybe that will generate a response from her. Or not. Either way, it'll allow me to further scrutinise the cause of this perplexing circumstance. I wonder if Isabella feels the same thing as me... Wow, her hands are warm. Alright, so holding her hands seemed to have only augmented this feeling. I still can't figure out why I'm feeling this way. I'll ask Isabella if she understands what's going on after we're done watching movies. Huh, seems like Isabella face looks kind of red, but that can't be right. We're in the house, and it's night, so it's not a sunburn. Another thing to ask either Ferb or Isabella, I guess._

Phineas remained confounded for the rest of the two movies. Both Phineas and Isabella did not move from their positions during the screening, in part due to their innate enjoyment of the situation. However, Phineas still could not wrap his head around his experience. He had never felt so lost or confused before in his life, and while it wasn't unpleasant, it was certainly disconcerting. This was one of the few times he had been unable to rationalise an explanation for an issue he had encountered.

Time flew by relatively quickly for the two adolescents, and before either of them knew it, the ending credits for the second movie had begun rolling. Phineas reluctantly released his grip on Isabella and proceeded to stretch.

"Oh wow, it's nine o'clock already. Boy, time sure passes quickly when you're watching Christmas specials. Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't we pretend we're camping and set up a mini-camp in the living room. Are you guys up for it?"

"Yeah sure, that sounds great." Isabella said, with a hint of annoyance brought about by the loss of physical contact with Phineas, but still retaining most of her enthusiasm. Ferb simply gave a thumbs up.

"Alright then. Ferb, grab the sleeping bags from our room. Isabella, would you mind going into the kitchen and getting some snacks? I'll go upstairs and see if Candace wants to join us."

"You think Candace wants to join us?" Isabella inquired with skepticism.

"I don't know. But it can't hurt to ask, right? Well Ferb, I know what we're gonna do tonight. Oh yeah, let's see if Perry wants to join us as well. Hey, where's Perry?"


	2. Chapter 2

Perry the Platypus was sleeping peacefully in the living room, when a loud beeping roused him from a deep slumber. Wide-eyed, he covered his wristwatch and looked over to his owners, sighing in relief when they seemed too distracted by the movie to notice the beeping.

He discreetly crawled away from the living room until he was in the backyard, and activated his wristwatch.

"Agent P, we have an emergency situation here!" A middle-aged man with a white beard and a Santa hat appeared on the holographic projection. "Dr. Doofenshmirtz has just been seen buying up all the eggnog in the Tri-State Area. We have no idea what heinous scheme he might be planning with that much eggnog, but it can't be good, especially since you've already foiled his plans once earlier this morning."

Perry raised his eyebrows, and pointed at his wristwatch to signal the time.

"Agent P, I understand that it's late, but we don't really have a choice here. All our other agents have already left to participate in the O.W.C.A. 24-hour worldwide Christmas Scavenger Hunt. It's a good thing you declined to take part in it, because you are the only agent within a 100 mile radius of Danville. So you are our only hope in stopping Dr. Doofenshmirtz from potentially ruining Christmas. Don't worry, this mission is considered overtime duty, so you will be paid accordingly. Good luck Agent P, and Merry Christmas. Monogram out."

Perry sighed, his hopes of being with his family on Christmas Eve now dashed, and jet-packed off to Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated.

* * *

Back in the Flynn-Fletcher home, Phineas walked upstairs to Candace's room, and knocked on the door.

"Ferb, Isabella and I are camping in the living room, wanna join us?" Phineas asked as Candace opened the door.

"Nope." Candace swiftly replied and slammed the door shut.

"Okay." Phineas then proceeded to walk towards his room, and upon entering, saw that Ferb had already found 4 sleeping bags.

"Candace isn't joining us, so we'll only need 3 sleeping bags." Phineas said, prompting Ferb to put one back.

"Hey, Ferb? This might seem a little sudden, but can I talk to you about something?" Phineas inquired, almost like he was unsure of himself.

Ferb, intrigued by the unusual display of hesitance, turned to him face him to indicate he was listening.

"You see, lately, I have had spontaneous explosions of felicity. It just seems that sometimes, I feel exhilarated for no apparent reason. It's like, what was that idiom, having butterflies in my stomach? But it's more than just the slight jittering we experience when we are nervous or anxious. It's an inexplicable feeling which goes beyond mere verbal description. For some reason, I haven't been able to figure out my emotions. In fact, I think I've even had a similar feeling of elation just now when we were watching movies. Strange, right?"

Phineas looked over to Ferb, who stared back in silence, his face displaying complete indifference.

"I know what you mean, Ferb." Phineas continued. "We weren't even watching action movies. There was nothing fast-paced about the Christmas specials, so it makes no sense for me to feel this way. I just can't figure out the meaning of this. Unless..."

He paused to consider another possibility. _Isabella? No, that can't be right. Why would she, of all people, cause me to feel like this? I mean, we are best friends, so I naturally feel happy around her. But, this emotion feels... different. It's unlike any kind of happiness I have felt before. It's better, more... unique, yet I can't place my finger on it._

"Oh well, guess we better get going. Thanks Ferb, you always know what to say. Now let's go, I bet Isabella is already waiting for us. " Phineas said, returning to his optimistic disposition. "Wait, Ferb, I have one more question."

"What does it mean when Isabella's cheeks turn red?"

* * *

**Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated**

Perry flew towards the giant purple building and into an open window, assuming a fighting stance just as his nemesis turned to face him.

"Ah, Perry the Platypus. Your arrival was most unforeseen, and by that I mean completely foreseen!" Dr. Doofenshmirtz yelled as he pushed a button, activating a laser which blasted Perry, encasing him in a block of ice.

"Now, I bet you are wondering why I have decided to build my next inator so early, and the truth is, I initially didn't know what evil scheme I would use tomorrow. But that all changed when we were fighting just now..."

* * *

**Flashback**

"Ouch, stop hitting me Perry the Platypus, that really hurt. Argh, my knees! No, not the face! Oww!" Dr. Doofenshmirtz cried out as Perry was beating him up with a wrench. "Great, now I need to get the ice pack to reduce the ... Hey, that gives me an idea! Oww! No, Perry the Platypus, not the self-destruct button!"

Perry threw the wrench at the red button on his inator, causing the machine to shake violently. Perry jumped off the building and flew away on his hang glider just as the machine exploded behind him.

"CURSE YOU, PERRY THE PLATYPUS!"

* * *

**Present time**

"You see, I didn't want to forget the idea. So I decided to start working on it immediately after you had left. Also, I wanted to carry out my plan before it was officially Christmas. That way, people would suffer for the entire 24 hours of Christmas."

Dr. Doofenshmirtz walked towards a cloth-covered machine mounted on his balcony, and pulled the fabric away to reveal a giant laser aimed at the sky.

"Behold, my Blizzard Creator-inator! With this machine, I will fire a laser beam at the sky, which will bring about one of the coldest, harshest snowstorms to the Tri-State Area! And then, not only will the citizens of the Tri-State Area suffer from the unbearable cold, thereby ruining their joyous Christmas spirit, but I will also make them beg for the blizzard to stop. That is when I will swoop in and demand to be made supreme ruler in exchange for turning off the machine, thus giving me COMPLETE CONTROL OF THE TRI-STATE AREA!" Dr. Doofenshmirtz began laughing maniacally.

"There is nothing you can do about it, Perry the Platypus." He gloated. "You are trapped in a block of ice, with no way of escaping. Maybe you should just quit COLD turkey! Get it? Cold? As in, you're trapped in ICE?" Dr. Doofenshmirtz saw that Perry looked unimpressed. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you didn't like that pun." Perry still did not give a response. "You're not giving me the COLD shoulder, are you?" He was about to start chortling again when he noticed a lack of expression on Perry's face. "You know, it has just occurred to me that you are stuck... in a block of ice, unable to respond. Otherwise, you might have reacted to my puns by now. Either way, I should probably get Norm to destroy the book I recently bought: 'How to make execrable puns and jokes, anytime, anywhere!' I have no idea what 'execrable' means, but I thought it would make me funnier. I don't think it's working, though."

"Anyway, to ensure that my invention is themed for Christmas, it is powered by eggnog. See?" Dr. Doofenshmirtz pointed to the enormous tank of eggnog next to the Blizzard Creator-inator. "That way, I can still destroy Christmas while remaining festive."

"Now watch, as I unleash the worst blizzard in history all over the Tri-State Area!" Dr. Doofenshmirtz presses a button on the machine's control panel, firing a white beam at the sky. Ominous clouds began forming and swirling around the beam. The clear night sky was obstructed by a sinister overcast of gray as the temperature dipped. Within a minute, fierce gusts of winds started to pelt the Tri-State Area with snow, quickly enveloping the ground in a white blanket.

"It's working!" Dr. Doofenshmirtz remarked with glee. "Perry the Platypus, do you see this? It's working! Very soon, the blizzard will reach its maximum power, and my reign of freezing terror shall begin! Ooh, I always wanted to say that."

"Brr..." Dr. Doofenshmirtz started shivering from the cold. "Wow, it is really cold. Norm, what's the current temperature?"

"The temperature is -13 degrees Fahrenheit; or -25 degrees celsius; or 248.15 Kelvin"

"Alright, alright, sheesh Norm, you only needed to answer in one temperature scale. Turn the thermostat on, it's freezing in here."

"Yes sir." Norm replied in an obsequious manner, and walked towards the thermostat.

"Observe, Perry the Platypus, as the Tri-State Area becomes colder every second, while you remain powerless to stop me!" Dr. Doofenshmirtz exclaims, before letting out a yawn. "Wow, it's been quite a long day, hasn't it, Perry the Platypus." He plopped himself down on the couch and switched the television on with the remote. "I wonder if there are any Christmas specials on right now."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Flynn-Fletcher home, Ferb was unsure of how to respond.

_Should I tell him? _He pondered thoroughly, _I did promise Isabella not to tell Phineas anything about her feelings. Although, I'm not sure if explaining her unconscious behavior to him would count as revealing her crush, since it's likely that Phineas still wouldn't recognize the message. Isabella may wish for him to finally understand her hints, but I doubt he'll ever grow out of his obliviousness. I wonder how long it will take for him to realize that the both of them are always smiling when around each other. All of us have already tried persuading her to come clean with Phineas, but she stubbornly refused, citing the need for Phineas to develop romantic feelings for her without being pressured to do so. If only there was something I could do to expedite that process without making my intentions too obvious. From what I could gather, Phineas' confusion may be a direct result of his inexperience in romance, and as such is amplified by his general lack of interest in the partaking of any romantic activities. At the very least, Isabella should be relieved that Phineas enjoys and welcomes this feeling, as opposed to her fear that he would be frightened by anything even remotely romantic. Now, back to the conundrum of what to respond with. I could go into explicit detail and mention precisely how and why people blush, using medical terminology as much as possible. I'm certain Phineas will be able to understand me, but that would result in his realization that Isabella was blushing in his presence, which she most definitely does not want him to know. Or, I could try dropping subtle hints, but everyone knows how that will turn out. Should I advise him to discuss this with Isabella? It may provide some answers for Phineas, but it might turn into a really awkward conversation. Besides, Isabella would probably conceal her true feelings in order to avoid embarrassment. Perhaps I could get him to drop the subject by dismissing it as a 'girl thing', but that will only be counterproductive to helping develop their relationship, and it wouldn't be fair for either of them. Gosh, Phineas, why are you so oblivious? Things would be much easier if you were a little more observant._

"Ferb, you haven't answered my question. Did you hear what I said?"

Ferb reached out and placed his hand on Phineas' shoulder, causing Phineas to look at him quizzically.

"Some things in life, are worth figuring out on your own."


	3. Chapter 3

Meanwhile, Perry was still trapped in the block of ice. His eyes swept across his nemesis' lair, which was cluttered with spare machinery parts. However, all were out of reach, with the ice rendering him immobile. Dr. Doofenshmirtz was resting on the couch, the flickering lights of the television drawing his attention away from Perry's futile search for means of escape.

Then, as Perry was about to give up, he noticed the Achilles' Heel of his trap. A puddle of water was forming around the block of ice. All Perry had to do was wait and hope Dr. Doofenshmirtz does not realize his trap's flaw.

Fortunately, Dr. Doofenshmirtz had his eyes glued to the television, as if Perry wasn't even there to begin with. With astounding stealth, Perry silently slid across the lair, using his now emancipated tail to propel the ice block forward. He was making incredible headway towards the Blizzard Creator-inator, considering that he was still partially trapped, when Norm managed to indirectly compromise his efforts.

"The floor is wet. Perry the Platypus, could you stay still for a moment? Your ice is leaving a wet trail on the floor. I have to go get a towel to dry it, or my father will angrily yell at me." The robot said, his speech completely devoid of any emotion.

"What? How can the floor be wet?" Norm's comment managed to steer Dr. Doofenshmirtz's attention away from the television.

"Seriously Norm, why is the floor wet? Did you... Perry the Platypus! How did you manage to escape!? Oh wait, you're not actually free, you just managed to move a couple of meters. No matter, I can simply walk to my Freeze Ray-inator and re-activate it to freeze you again."

Dr. Doofenshmirtz began walking towards the Freeze Ray-inator, but fate had other plans. He conveniently stepped on the trail of water, causing him to slip and fall. The shock he experienced while falling prompted him to release his grasp on the television remote, which flew across his lair and smashed the control panel of his Freeze Ray-inator.

"Ow! Curse the laws of gravity for making me hit the ground with such force. Next time, I'm building something that weakens the pull of gravity." Dr. Doofenshmirtz ranted loudly to himself.

"Norm! Clean up this mess immediately! I can't even walk around within the sanctity of my humble abode without getting injured." He commanded before pointing at Perry. "And when you're done, deal with this pest over here. I can't have him roaming around my lair like this, he might foil my plans, or worse, break something."

At this moment, the Freeze Ray-inator started shaking violently and emitting a high-pitched noise.

"Hmm, I don't recall programming it to do that. Oh, now I remember! To prevent Perry the Platypus from destroying it, I installed an automated self-destruct sequence that functions as a self-defense mechanism. It activates when the machine senses that it is being destroyed."

Dr. Doofenshmirtz then realized his predicament and muttered: "Uh oh."

The Freeze Ray-inator exploded, sending shrapnel flying in all directions. Flames spouted from the wreckage, the billowing smoke quickly enveloping the entire lair. The heat from the explosion was enough the melt the rest of the ice restricting Perry's movements.

Perry pulled out a pair of goggles and respirator from his hat and hastily equipped them. However, the smoke was obstructing his view, preventing him from locating both Dr. Doofenshmirtz and the Blizzard Creator-inator. He tried walking slowly towards a random direction, carefully avoiding any obstacles that may have been present.

"Argh! I can't see anything!" Dr. Doofenshmirtz cried out and broke into a series of coughs. "Norm, get rid of -cough- this smoke -cough- now!"

"As you wish, sir." Norm replied, his arm turning into a giant fan. The propellers began turning, the spinning blades creating a gust which blew the smoke out of the building. As the smoke cleared, Dr. Doofenshmirtz could make out a vague silhouette of a platypus amidst the foggy atmosphere.

Dr. Doofenshmirtz picked up a shovel which was, for some inexplicable reason, on the ground, and charged at the silhouette, brandishing the garden tool like a weapon.

Perry, seeing the smoke clear, removed the equipment he was wearing. From the corner of his eyes, he caught a tall figure running towards him with some sort of weapon. With lightning reflexes, he dodged out of harm's way with a barrel roll just as Dr. Doofenshmirtz swung his shovel and slammed the ground.

He then tried swinging the shovel at the platypus, but Perry managed to grab the shovel with one hand. Dr. Doofenshmirtz used all his strength to keep the shovel swinging sideways, until the momentum was so great that Perry lost his grip and was sent flying.

Perry regained his bearings and did a somersault mid-air, eventually landing on the ground while maintaining a fighting stance. However, he was thrown across to the other side of the lair, far away from the Blizzard Creator-inator.

"Norm! Why aren't you helping me fight Perry the platypus? Stop drying the floor with that towel!" Dr. Doofenshmirtz shouted at the robot.

"I'm sorry sir, but I cannot do that. You specifically ordered me to dry the floor first, then deal with Perry. The floor is still wet." Norm replied, which enraged Dr. Doofenshmirtz.

"Fine." He groaned. "But next time, fighting Perry the Platypus takes priority over anything else."

While Dr. Doofenshmirtz was arguing with a robot, Perry charged towards the Blizzard Creator-inator, hoping to destroy it before his nemesis tried to stop him. However, Dr. Doofenshmirtz saw Perry sprinting towards the machine, and cut him off by smashing the shovel in front of him.

Perry managed to stop right before the shovel connected with the ground in front of him. Dr. Doofenshmirtz continued his relentless swinging of the shovel, with Perry barely evading the successive attempts to hit him. Perry took another tentative step backwards, when he felt his back paw touch the wall behind him. He looked around to assess the situation, and found himself backed into a corner.

"Trapped in a corner, with no way to escape." Dr. Doofenshmirtz grinned evilly as he raised the shovel in the air. "This may hurt a little."

Perry looked in trepidation at Dr. Doofenshmirtz. He frantically looked around for something to save himself from a world of pain, when he noticed something. He used his tail to scoop up a rake that was lying on the floor, and tossed it over his head. The rake flew above him and connected with the incoming shovel, the impact being strong enough to momentarily stun Dr. Doofenshmirtz. Perry took this opportunity to grab the falling rake and swung it at him.

Dr. Doofenshmirtz snapped out of his daze just in time to dodge the rake. However, Perry wasn't aiming the rake at him. The hooked end of the rake snagged the shovel, the force of the swing causing Dr. Doofenshmirtz to let go of the shovel.

"Great. What are the odds, being disarmed by a rake? Seriously, why do I have so many gardening tools lying around? Everyone knows I don't have a green thumb, we learnt that last summer!"

Perry tossed the rake aside and pounced on Dr. Doofenshmirtz. Not expecting Perry's assault, he unwittingly allowed him to land a sucker punch on his face, interrupting his soliloquy.

As Dr. Doofenshmirtz fell to the ground in pain, Perry wasted no time in running towards the Blizzard Creator-inator. However, before he could reach the machine, a giant robot's extended arm slammed into his body and sent him stumbling backwards. Perry then felt himself pinned to the ground by the same arm.

"Good job, Norm." Dr. Doofenshmirtz said while standing up, his hand covering the bruise on his cheek. "Perry the Platypus, I must admit, that was an impressive attempt to defeat me. However, it was still not enough! Looks like this time, you don't get the save the day. For once, evil has triumphed!"

Perry took a grappling hook out of his hat and aimed it at Dr. Doofenshmirtz.

"A grappling hook? How are you going to stop me with that?"

Perry then revised his aim at the last second and pulled the trigger, launching the steel claw towards the tank of eggnog. The glass walls were pierced by the metallic end of the device, shattering the entire tank. Liters after liters of eggnog poured out of the container, covering the lair in the liquid.

"Look at what you've done, Perry the Platypus!" Dr. Doofenshmirtz shouted exasperatedly. "The eggnog is up to my ankles, and the lair is completely flooded with eggnog!"

"Perry the Platypus, that was a really smart move. However, you haven't defeated me yet!" A smug expression returned to his face. "You see, the eggnog tank was a last-minute addition. The Blizzard Creator-inator can also run on electricity for backup power, you know, in case something like this happens. Besides, you are still trapped! There is nothing you can do!"

"The floor is wet again. I better clean it up, just as Dr. Doofenshmirtz ordered." Norm retracted his arm, releasing his restraint on Perry while walking to get a towel.

"Oh for crying out loud, you are hopeless!" Dr. Doofenshmirtz berated at his robot assistant.

Perry was about to destroy the Blizzard Creator-inator, when sparks started flying out of the machine. The beam being fired into the sky began glowing brighter every second, as it intensified and worsened the already inclement weather. Perry and Dr. Doofenshmirtz had to shield their eyes as the beam was far too bright for the naked eye.

"It appears that my Blizzard Creator-inator has gone into overdrive. It's probably caused by some of the eggnog which had spilled on the machine and seeped into the inner circuitry, especially since the tank of eggnog was directly beside it." Dr. Doofenshmirtz mused. "That's not good. Overdrive mode can drain a lot of power. With the Blizzard Creator-inator plugged directly into the building's main power supply, it's only a matter of time before..."

Dr. Doofenshmirtz was cut off by the machine's explosion. The building immediately lost power following the explosion. The combination of the eggnog and the immense amount of electricity drained lead to a short-circuit, causing the entire Danville to experience a complete loss of electricity, essentially plunging the city into absolute darkness.

"...the machine overheats and explodes, while Danville loses power." Dr. Doofenshmirtz finished, his last observation now made obsolete by the evident sequence of events.

Perry could not see anything, so he merely stood there, unable to do anything useful in the darkness.

After a few seconds of waiting in awkward silence, the lights came back on, startling the platypus. However, the rest of Danville remained covered in a sheet of darkness.

"Ah, that must be my backup generator kicking in. Do you like it, Perry the Platypus? When I bought it a few months ago, it only generated enough electricity to power 'essential appliances', like refrigerators, heating devices, those kinds of things. What a load of rubbish! They could have just admitted that they were too lazy to build something that would generate more electricity, instead of making up some ridiculous excuse about conserving power during an emergency. So, I modified it! I hacked into government records and managed to get a copy of classified blueprints to build a machine that could wirelessly transmit electricity. Apparently, it was theorized by some guy called Nikola Tesla, before the government seized his patents. There were also blueprints on building death rays and earthquake machines, but I couldn't design an evil scheme around them, so I ignored those boring inventions. Anyway, I have another machine in Danville power station which wirelessly transmits electricity from their backup generators to a receiver on the roof, providing an entire city's worth of backup power to my building. It's evil and effective."

Dr. Doofenshmirtz then noticed that Perry was still standing in his lair, instead of leaving like he had expected.

"Perry the Platypus, why are you still here?" Dr. Doofenshmirtz asked with a puzzled tone. "You destroyed my invention, foiled my evil plan, you even managed to flood my lair. You won this time. I lose. Go. You can leave now. Seriously, why aren't you leaving?"

Perry merely pointed at the window. Dr. Doofenshmirtz looked outside through said window, and saw the blizzard still raging.

"What? Your hang glider can't glide smoothly in 60 miles per hour wind? How about your jetpack? Surely you can still fly around, despite visibility being near zero and all?" Dr. Doofenshmirtz realized that Perry was unable to leave the building until the storm dies down. Perry shrug his shoulders, the elements of nature being the only thing that could truly render the platypus helpless.

"Fine, Perry the Platypus, you can stay for a while." Dr. Doofenshmirtz conceded. "But only until the weather is mild enough for you to leave. It's getting really late, and I don't like having visitors over when I'm asleep."

Dr. Doofenshmirtz then looked around and noticed that Norm was trying to use a small washcloth to clean the mess caused by the eggnog.

"Perry the Platypus, if you're going to stay, at least help get rid of all the eggnog first."

* * *

_"Some things in life, are worth figuring out on your own."_

Phineas followed Ferb down the stairs, all the while ruminating over his brother's words.

_What did Ferb mean when he said that? Does he really want me to go through this all by myself? Maybe there's a hidden message encoded in his words! Nah, that seems unlikely. Seems like Ferb really wants me to figure it out without any help. What could be so important that Ferb requires me to do this on my own? Is there a life lesson I can learn from this?_

Phineas was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't realize he already reached the living room and had been unwittingly staring at Isabella for the past few seconds. Fortunately, she was too busy setting up her sleeping bag to notice. He quickly looked away before she caught him and proceeded to set up his own sleeping bag.

_Talking to Ferb had definitely helped organize my thoughts better, but I still can't think of a reason for this. Maybe I should start somewhere and work it out from there. But where to start from?_

While Phineas went back to thinking about his problem, his unconscious decided otherwise, casting occasional glances at a certain female, her raven hair reflecting off the illumination of the florescent lamp above.

At this point, nothing was out of the ordinary. The night was progressing rather uneventfully. It was going to be just another regular sleepover. Typicality had never been so well expressed.

That is, until the lights suddenly went out, plunging the household into darkness.


End file.
